With the new year comes many different award shows that play out from the previous years movies. This past year, 2023, came with so many great films and tv shows, including Barbie and Ophemheir, and even Last of Us. However, when it came down to the nominations that were presented within the Oscars and Golden Globe, it seemed like many people were left out.
Barbie, a major film, was taken by storm for the entire take of being a woman. Director Greta Gerwig and lead actress Margot Robbie made this film come to life in its entirety and struck the nation out. However, they weren’t nominated in their respective categories for their amazing talent and overall film. Instead, Ryan Gosling was nominated for a male actress role for the same movie.
Ryan Gosling is an amazing actor that has played in so many different movies and shows, he deserves such an amazing award. But, even according to him on an Instagram post, he expressed his love for the nomination and even pointed out how two people that were also a part of that movie were left out, Gerwig and Robbie, and the deep sorrow that comes with.
Misogyny in Hollywood is something that has dated back from the beginning of Hollywood. However, it is more prominent than ever before, especially within comedians. Jo Koy, the opener for the Golden Globes, is just one prominent example of how it is so hard to be in a man’s world as a woman. One comment that seems to strike any feminist mind is “Oppenheimer is based on a 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project, and Barbie is on a plastic doll with big boobies,” he said. “The key moment in Barbie is when she goes from perfect beauty to bad breath, cellulite, and flat feet. Or what casting directors call character actors!”
This comment goes far above the award show and the sexist comment that he makes. That one comment seems to me, of what Barbie is entirely about. It further proves the point of how hard it is to be a woman, more specifically in Hollywood and in a man’s world. Barbie portrayed how women are chronically sidelined and neglected due to the deeply ingrained patriarchal structures that hold up our world, no matter how smart, talented, or capable they truly are.
Throughout the years, female artists, directors, and creators have fought an endless battle for equal recognition. The Golden Globes’ history is filled with instances where women in the industry were overlooked or marginalized. It took until 1982 for Barbra Streisand to become the first woman to win Best Director, a category where female nominees remained scarce. Even today, despite strides made by pioneering women, the presence of female directors, especially in prestigious award nominations, remains low.
Women have fought for equality in Hollywood for years, and while there has been some improvements, we are far from done. Sunday night’s show further proved that accomplished women are often viewed differently than men, and are objectified and targeted as undeserving of their achievements. As we look forward to the future of the Golden Globes and other award shows, I hope that Hollywood decides to promote genuine change, and ignores the biases from the past.
